Miner&#39;s lamp



Sebt. 195 G. WHEAT ETAL MINER S LAMP 2 Sl-IEETS-SHEET 1 Original FiledDec. 20, 1948 Sept. 2, 1952 Original Filed Dec. 20,- 1948 G. WHEAT EI'ALMINERS LAMP 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Sept; 2, 1952 UNITED STAT-ESMINERS LAMP Grant Wheat and Arthur fiairiis, Marina a), Mass,assigiior's to Kochler Manufacturing Company; Marlboro, Mass'.,

"Mass chusetts a carporatmnof Original application liecember 66,368;Divided and this application April 14,

1950, Siial No". 156,006

.. 11 Claims.

This invention relates to mihers lamps or; the type. commonly referredto as safety flame lamps which can be ignited while in a substantiallyclosed state through a spark i'gniter mech-' anism designed to be'operated by hand from a point outside of the enclosingstructure of thelamp? ,'1J I In general, sucha lamp iricl'udes a want for holding asupply or napt r dtheif'liq'uid fuel; a burner of the wick type,asubstafitially 'un-' breakable glass chimney encircling" the wick; awoven wire mesh ga ze and bonnet" above the chimney; a dome top abovethe-bonnet; and means for holding these parts together in theirassembled relationship: With theseelements it is'customary to combine' aspark ighiter which has an externally loca-te'd operating linob o'r handle; and conventional structures" of this natur are objectionable owingto their being relatively cumbersome, occupying considerable space inthe mum, and being di'ficult-to remov'e; Y w The present inventiorfdeals the' prbblerns indicated and aims to impr'dve sarety nit-12pstruchires and their sp'arkigfiite'if 'rnechar fis'fi with a view tofacilitatingthservicirig and fiiaint'enance of such devices. It is alsoan' object" of the i1i-' vention to devise; a"structura whichwillhestrong er, simplenand more economical to manufacture, as well as onethat will be mor'e'convenient to use. It is still further an objectoftheinvention to provide an apparatus having outstanding safety features.

These and other objects andnovelfeatureszwill be more fully understoodandv appreciated from the following description of'a preferredembodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration andshownin the accompanyingdrau ingainwhich a w Fig. 1 is a vertical,sectional View, partly elevation, illustrating theimproved safety lampconstructionof,theinvention; A I

Fig. 2 is a persp "ctive view of the safety lamp fount 'showingfthespark igniter of lthe invention re'mdvedtherefrorn; Fig.3 'is" a newsomewhat sizm aritolllig. 2 but illustrating th lgfiitil part1? iiilfial ld inthe t: f.

Fig. 4 is :ap ar vi ewcr th' foii'nt with the" ignite'r runy' installed}and iiigpieper 611-. crating relationship Wifihfrfifiedi to thbllifii"elementofthelamp; f

Fig. 5 is an exploded, viewtfithi igiiiter ifi' h"- anism shown inFig's. 1to'4,incliisii/" 1 v neckis an air admission tiire through whichthe gniter' m mber is 111; serted in installing the latter iriefnhe'rits proper operating position; 1 p M Fi '1 is a cross-sect ievv takencentrally through the i'g'nitr appat sh6wirigthe'1f1a= uonsmpof theirfiter elements to one afithei; Fig. 8 isan enlarged detailedelv'atiorial' new of the'head'o'f theigmter; M Fig; 9 is attende1eirat-iirial view of the gene: ture showninli igl Fi 1-0 is a viewsimilar t6 F'': abut illustfaitf ing a different operating 156515105 ofth lefiints appearing therein: 7 p q Fig, 11 is a detailed viewerscaniengaging frier n-berj-and- I r 5 v Fig 1 2 'is' a detail efd e li aloner-view ofthe engaginge'le'ineht shown in Fig. 11" mounted on itsstipp'drtiiig' 'ha-fti; f Referring first to Fig I; the laifipstruc rethere shown comprises a fount 2 p'rbviddan integral annular neck- 3riding? from its t p and this neck is s'ldtteid; at sweatpants, soni' ofwhich are shown at 4 ,-f'o'r" the ass-see a tlieretfi ro'iig'fi; Resting0h tfii fdln lt iflS'idB fihe' toprovid' a's'eat fort hottoni' ortheg'lass chini ney s; a; gasket 1 temg n erposeu between said seat andthe lower-end of the ch-i'r'r'in'yenters of this' chiinnyis another ring8' c rryingat eas top; of thelamp structure is; a: dome top;.l 6- cov-'amendments a so it reds:

ering the; upper endotthe bonnet; and the usual carryinghook I lis-attached to it."

o ri llre-i heseima tibnseof this lamp St ct r i i ly.ie tli sas vflm rea -J m rods It; in this instanoe fiW, ar arranged to c'onnectithe topand .bottorn elements qf this assembly in' the manners; rihedand clainiedi in copending application-Serf Dec: 20; 1948.

v a counter; sunk hol' fbrihed' in the lower side I of jtheiloclg r ngat" which is, seretv tiiri' 'acfedf ltc the heck 3 of the foufitlAs'ries ftuhes zl eac enc ir r sl i e libs d; between" the lock na"arena the middle ring ll ring 5 and it shaped v Flo-1 661368; file d:

where they space these two elements apart. The middle and top rings arespaced apart by the bonnet [3. Above the bonnet several short tubes 22encircle the upper portions of the respective rods 18 and space the dometop Hi from the top ring 15 by a distance ample to provide ventilation.

Nuts 23 threaded on the upper ends of the rods 18 serve, when turned up,to tighten the parts of the entire bonnet and frame assembly rigidlytogether. Each of the nuts 23 at the upper end of the bolts is securedin a depression or socket formed in the dome top 16 which prevents thenut from rotating. Between the middle ring [4 and the adjacent flange ofthe outer cone (2 a spring ring or expansion ring 26 is inserted whereit serves to compensate for any expansion or contraction of the parts,due to changes in temperature, and to maintain the joints in theassembly tight.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention we combine with a safetylamp structure, as above described, a novel spark igniter mechanism inthe' form of a compact igniter unit which is easily installed andremoved from the fount of a safety lamp and designed to be furnished asa replaceable item. This unit is of the spark type including a frictionwheel or disk 50, more clearly shown in Figs. 4, 7 and 8, and providedwith file cut edges working against a piece of flint or .pyro metal 52resiliently held in a tubular body 54 by means of a coiled spring 55anda set screw 56. In the construction provided by the invention, the partsjust mentioned are mounted on a cylindrical bushing 58 rigidly fastenedby a screw 60 (Fig. '7) in a cylindrical holder 25. The latter memberhas a fiat bottom surface adapted to rest on the top plate 62 of thefount 2. Located through the plate 52 is a circular aperture 64 (Fig. 6)which is formed with a straight overhanging edge 65. The friction wheel50 is fixed on a shaft 56 whichis eccentrically mounted for rotation inthe bushing 58. One end of a spring 68 is anchored to the bushing 58 andthe other end extendsaround, and is secured to, the shaft 66. At itsinner or lower extremity the shaft 66 has mounted on it in fixedrelation an eccentric earn which extends radially outward and isresiliently held against a stop 12 solidly located on the bushing 58, asis better shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The cam 10 and stop 12 are arrangedin spaced relation to the inner bottom surface of the holder 25, as will.be noted in Fig. '1.

Supported in the fount 2 is a receiver 21 of generally tubular formwhich extends through the body of thefount and is sealed at oppositeends to the top and bottom plates of the latter member. It is desirableto have the top of the igniter occupy a position no higher than the topof the burner 24 when the lamp is in operation and, consequently, it isnecessary in lighting the lamp to raise the friction wheel andflintassembly into such position that the spark produced by theoperation of the latter will be on approximately a level with'the top ofthe wick W, shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

To satisfy these conditions we have first provided a port 14 (Fig. 1)which is formed in the side of the igniter holder 25 and through whicha. spark from the igniter may be directed across the top of the wickwhen the'igniter is in a raised position. To raise the igniter into'proper operating relationship with the wick 'W, the holder 25 isconstructed at it's inner end with a reduced cylindrical stem which isslidably disposed through the fount plate 62 and which extends into theupper hollow end of the receiver 21. This reduced cylindrical stemcomprises two bosses 28 and 29, more clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3, 5 and7. The bosses 2B and 29 are spaced apart by an intermediate cylindricalpart 30 of lesser diameter.

Cooperating with the igniter holder and its reduced cylindrical stem isa shaft 31 extending from one end of the receiver 21 through the reducedstem into the lower end of the holder 25, as noted in Fig. 7. The outerextremity of shaft 3] is threaded to receive an operating knob 33. Acoiled spring 34 encircles the shaft 3|, when the .parts are in theiroperative positions as shown in Fig. 7, and the spring abuts at itsupper end against a shoulder in the receiver 21, and at its lower endagainst an adjacent portion of the knob 33. Consequently, this springtends to hold the igniter in a lowered position with respect to thereceiver 21. I f Y At its opposite or vvupper end the shaft 3 i solidlysupports a thin disk16 which is received within the member 25' in aposition to bear against the bottom inner surface of the latter member.The disk is provided with a cam engaging projection 18, more clearlyshown in Figs. 11 and 12. The projection 18isarra'1'1ged on the outerperipheral edgeof the diskin a position chosen such that it may moveinto engagement with the eccentric cam 10 in one location of the lattermember, such as that shown in Fig. 9 for example. When the shaft 31 anddisk are rotated by the knob 33 in a clockwise direction; the cam-10.together with the friction wheel shaft 65, will be rotated against theholding effect of the spring 68.. As rotation continues, the projection18 slides outwardly along the cam 'IO, and at some predetermined point,such as that shown in Fig. 10, will release the cam 10 allowing ittospring back to its starting position against the stop member 12.

In operating the igniter, the knob 33 is first pushed upwardly carryingthe friction wheel and flint up to the level of the wick W where theyare firmly held. The knob 33 is then, at the same time, turned in aclockwise direction to rotate the friction wheel 50 through .a limitedarc of rotation, after which its. connection with the shaft 3! isreleased, as above described, and the spring 68 operating through theenergy stored in it by the rotation, produces a quick rotative movementof the disk in the opposite direction. This :movement operates bycontact of the disk with the flange 52 to produce the spark which lightsthe wick W. After the flash has occurred the knob is released and thespring 34 returns the knob and the igniter to their original startingpositions. l

'During the upward -r novein ent of the knob 33 and the igniter, boss 28slide'sthrough the hole 64 in the top plate of the fount. This boss 28is of a shape and dimension to fit snugly within the hole 64 with asmall operating clearance, and in order to accomplish this, boss 28 isformed with a flat 28a, better shown in Fig. 5. Similarly, the boss 29is of the same peripheral shape and diameter as the boss 28 and isadapted topass through the opening 64 at one point being formed with aflat 29a, which occurs in a plane at right angles to theplane of thefiat28a. r

' The boss 29 has its upper'surface located at a distance from thefrictionfwheel and flint so chosen that the latter members willlie at acorrect position for directing a sparkacross the wick" when the uppersurface of the boss 29' is forcedagainst the under surface of the plate52 of the fount. The boss, therefore, serves as astop to limit upwardmovement of the igniter during the lighting operation. It mayhere beobserved that the igniter support 25 and the bosses 28 and 25 are allcoaxial with the shaft 31-, and the curved surfaces of the bosses areconcentric with those of the members 25 and 30.

Occasionally it is necessary to remove the igniter from the fount, andthis operation can be performed by turning the knob 3'3counter-clockwise and thereby unscrewing it from the shaft 3|, afterwhich the igniter body can be lifted until the boss 29 strikes the underside ofthe overhanging edge 65 of the top plate of the fount. Then bygiving the igniter a quarter turn in a counter-clockwise direction, thelower boss 29 is brought into the proper position to pass through thehole 35 with the flat 29a. lying in register with the edge 65 of theplate. The entire igniter body can then be lifted out, as suggested inFig. l, and replaced with a new unit, or suitable repairs made as arenecessary.

When installing the igniter the lower boss 29 is brought into theposition suggested in Fig. 2 with the flat 29a lying in register withthe edge 65 of the opening 64. In this position it will be observed thatthe tubular member 54 projects outwardly beyond the edgeof the fountneck. Whenthus located the boss may then be dropped down until theshoulder on the bottom of the boss 28 strikes the top plate of thefount. Then the igniter is turned in a clockwise direction into aposition such as that suggested in Fig. 3, in which the upper flat 28aof boss 28 registers with the edge 65 and allows the boss 28 to bedropped down until the member 25 seats on the top plate of the fount. Inthe latter position described it will be observed that the tubularmember 54 has been swung around into a position such as is illustratedin Fig. 4, in which it no longer projects above the neck of the fount.

An important feature of the invention is the cooperative locking effectderived from the location of the tubular member 54 with respect to theflat29a. As noted above, the fiat 290. is so located on the boss 29 thatin order for the fiat to register with the overhanging edge 65, the tube54 must project outwardly over the fount neck. By reason of this factit, will be. seen that in a fully assembled position of the lamp chimneyit will be impossible for the tubular member to move into a positionwhere the igniter canbe completely removed from the fount. Such a lockis important because it prevents the igniter from falling out'of thefoun't if the lamp should be turned upside down at a time when the knob33 has been removed. 7

Itwi'll also be seen that it is imperative to maintain theport d inproper register with the wick W, and this is provided for by the flat28a of the boss 28 being locked against the edge 65 when the receiver 25is in a fully seated position on the top plate of the fount, as shown inFig. 4. Therefore, when in the position shownin Fig. 4 and in a partlyraised state, such as is effected by means ofv the knob 33, register-ofthe port with the wick is always maintained.

Thus it will be observed that in order to remove the igniter from thefount, it is necessary not only to remove the knob but also to produceslidable' and rotative -movemen-tsof" predeter mined degree of theigniterbo'dyfiin order to effect its release. It should-beobserved thatthefiat on the boss 28, as noted above, is in a plane at right angles tothe axis of the boss 28 and that the flat on the lower boss 29 is alsoparallel to that axis and in a plane perpendicular to the first notedplane. The edge in the hole 54' is also at right angles to the axis ofthe tube when the igniter is in its operative position. Consequently, ifthe operating knob should be removed, with the rest of the lamp stillassembled and lighted, it would be impossible to raise the igniter farenough. to free. it from the hole us. Also, the rotative movement of theigniter essential to its removal would be prevented by the igniter tubestriking the inner wall of the glass chimney 6. This will be clearlyseen from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 4.

The foregoing safeguards are important becauseif the igniter could bepushed up out of the fount merely by removing the knob, a hole would beprovided through which surrounding air and gases could flow into thewick chamber inside the chimney 6 and if these gases were combustible,explosion might be produced. To furtheraid in understanding this danger,it should be appreciated that through the air admission ring there isalways air (and as if present) flowing into the wick chamber, a movementwhich isv caused by the effect of the flame creating a suction. Should amixture of air and gas reach a point at which it is explosive, anignition may take place inside thte chimney and inner gauze. Thi isharmless as long as there are no openings large enough for a flame togothroughand reach the surrounding outside air. Actually this internaltype of explosion often takes place. Its worse effect is to extinguishthe flame. When this ignition inside the lamp takes place the suction ischanged to a pressure and the danger comes from the flame leaking out ofthe lamp, igniting ga on the outside.

A further provision made for the purpose of preventing the entrance ofcombustible gases into the lamp consists of providing the restriction 35in the bore of the tubular receiver 21. That is, this bore is sorestricted immediately above the spring 3-4 that it closely encirclesthe shaft 3| and prevents any appreciable leakage of gases around thisoperating element for the. igniter and into the wick chamber. v

It will be seen thatthe use of two spaced-apart bosses with flats atright angles to one another, in orderto lock the igniter in the desiredpositions in the fount, is made possible by combining with these bossesan. intervening reduced cylindrical portion 36,. which provides fornecessary rotative movement.

While we have herein; shownand described. a preferred embodiment of ourinvention, it is contemplated that the igniter mechanism may be utilizedwith various. other types of lamps and the invention may" hex-embodiedin other forms without departing from. the spirit or scope thereof.

- Having thus described our invention, what we desire to claim as newis:

1. In a miners flame safety lamp including a fountQa Wick, a chimneyencircling the wick, a spark igniter forthe wick', in combination with asupport for said igniter, one end of the support being slidably receivedin the fount, sprin means cooperating with said support to hold theigniter normally in a positiontoo low to ignite the wick,

the igniter beingmovable into its lighting rela- 75 tionship tothewi'ck; an operating element for the igniter positioned outside thelamp structure, and means limiting the movement of the igniter toapproximately the position required for the lighting of the wick, saidmeans comprising a cylindrical boss formed on the lower end of thesupport, said boss being formed with a flat surface lying in a planeparallel to the axis of the support, a cooperation part in the fount forslidably engaging with the boss and its flat surface, a secondcylindrical boss provided at the lower extremity of the support andformed with a second flat surface complementary with the flat surface ofthe said first boss but occurring at an angle thereto, and a reducedintermediate neck portion formed on the support at points between thetwo said bosses to permit free rotative movement of the neck portionrelative to the said cooperating part of the fount.

2. In a miners flame safety lamp including a fount, a wick, a chimneyencircling the wick, a spark igniter for the wick and a support for saidigniter normally resting on the top of the fount, a receptacle extendingthrough the fount and sealed at its top and bottom, said supportincluding a stem extending down into said receptacle, a keyed stop onsaid stem preventing the upward movement of the igniter beyond apredetermined point except when turned into an abnormal relationship tothe fount, a resiliently supported operating shaft for said igniterextending downwardly through said stem, and stop means constructed andarranged to engage against the chimney and maintain said igniter andsupport from being turned into said abnormal relationship to the fount.

3. In a miners lamp according to preceding claim 2, a construction inwhich said shaft extends through said receiver to a point below saidfount, a knob releasably secured to the end of said shaft, and meansinsaid receptacle approximately sealing the shaft against the entrance ofair around it upwardly through the receptacle and into the space in thechimney around said wick.

4. A miners flame safety lamp comprising a fount, a wick therein, achimney encircling said wick, a support for rotatably receiving the saidigniter, a receptacle extending perpendicularly through the fount andsealed thereto at its top and bottom portions, said support having astem slidably received through the top of the fount and extending intothe receptacle, a keyed stop on the stem preventing upward movement ofthe igniter beyond a predetermined point except when turned into anabnormal relationship to the fount, an operating shaft for the igniterextending downwardly through said stem, and means for preventing theigniter from being turned into said abnormal relationship when thechimney is mounted on the fount.

5. A miners flame safety lamp comprising a fount, a wick therein, achimney encircling said wick, a spark igniter for said wick, a supportfor similar profile constructed and arranged in spaced relation to thesaid first boss and integral therewith, the flat on the second bossbeing spaced angularly from theflat on the first boss to preventaccidental, removal of the igniter support from the fount, a springactuated shaft extending through the second boss axially of the tubularreceptacle, and an actuating knob on the shaft, the receptaclecomprising an annular sealing body snugly engaging the shaft to preventair leaking therealong.

6. A miners flame safety lamp including a fount, a wick, a chimneyencircling said wick and a spark igniter for said wick, in combinationwith an igniter support for rotatably receiving said igniter therein,said support having one end thereof slidably received through the topside of the fount, spring means cooperating with said support to holdthe igniter normally in a position too low toignite the wick, theigniter being movable into its lighting relationship to the wick, anoperating element for the igniter positioned outside the lamp structure,means limiting the movement of the igniter to approximately the heightrequired for the lighting of the Wick, said means including a projectionformed on the said end of the igniter support, and a cooperating part inthe fount for engaging against the projection when the igniter is raisedinto lighting relationship.

'7. A structure according to claim 6, in which the projection comprisesa cylindrical boss having a flat formed along one side thereof and lyingin a plane parallel to the axis of the igniter support, said cooperatingpart in the fount being formed complementary with the fiat on the bossto permit removal of the boss axially away from the fount in oneposition of rotation.

8. A device according to claim 7, including means for preventingrotation of the igniter support into a position in which the flat on theboss is in register with the said cooperating part of the fount, saidmeans comprising a tubular stop element fixed to the igniter support andextending radially outward therefrom, said stop element being of alength so chosen that it is engaged by the said chimney before it can beturned into a position i which the fiat on the boss is in register withthe cooperating part of the fount.

9. A miners flame safety lamp including a fount, a wick, a chimneyencircling said wick and a spark igniter for said wick, in combinationwith a support for rotatably receiving the said igniter therein, saidsupport having a reduced cylindrical end slidably received through thetop side of the f0unt,said cylindrical end being formed with a flat tohold the igniter support against rotation in the fount, spring meanscooperating with said support to hold the igniter normally in a positiontoo low to ignite the wick, the igniter being movable into its lightingrelationship to the wick, an operating element for the igniterpositioned outside the lamp structure, means limiting the movement of.the igniter to approximately the height required for the lighting of thewick, said means comprising a cylindrical boss formed on the said end ofthe igniter support, and a cooperating part in the fount for engagingagainst the cylindrical boss when the igniter is raised into lightingrelationship. w

10. A structure according to claim 9, in which the cooperating part inthe fount comprises an edge forming a D-s'hapedopening.

9 10 11. A structure as defined in claim 9, in which I the igniterincludes a cam element secured for REFERENCES CITED rotation the igniterholder, said Operating The foilowing references are of record in thement having a disk secured at the upper end fil f this patent; thereof,and a cam actuating projection on the 5 disk constructed and arranged tooperatively en- FOREIGN PATENTS gage the said cam and operate theigniter when Number Country Date the operating handleisturned. 37,153Austria May 10, 1903 GRANT WHEAT. 216,662 Ger-many Nov. 30, 1909 ARTHURG. DAVIS. 10

